This application claims benefit of priority from provisional patent application No. 60/576,391 filed Jun. 3, 2004. The present invention is directed to the field of pickup truck accessories. More particularly, the present invention is directed to hardware to facilitate storing a pickup truck bed cover in such a fashion as to provide access to substantially the entire bed.
A number of attempts have been made to provide storage for a cover for a pickup truck bed. One of the difficulties of the existing foldable hard covers is that when stored on the truck bed, a significant portion of the bed remains unaccessible. In addition, most of these devices lack an adequate means of latching them in place when they are stored on the truck bed. A further limitation of these covers is that they do not provide any means to facilitate their collapsing to the stored position. The owner must strong-arm them from the covering position to the stored position.
The pickup truck bed cover hardware of the present invention for a cover having a plurality of sections of substantially equal size which cooperate to provide coverage of an entire area of a pickup truck bed, the hardware comprising latch means to secure a front edge portion of the pickup truck bed cover in a first position over a front portion of the pickup truck bed; means facilitating rotation of the pickup truck bed cover to a substantially vertical position; securing means holding the bed cover in the substantially vertical position; whereby the pickup truck bed cover can be stored in the substantially vertical position to provide unimpeded access to substantially the entire area of the pickup truck bed.
The means for facilitating rotation comprises means to elevate a forward end of the bed cover in its folded position to permit rotation thereof to the substantially vertical position. In one embodiment, the means to elevate includes a slide connected to the bed cover and a guide connected to an inner side wall of the pickup truck bed. The slide can take the form of a cylindrical member with a wheel at one end, the cylindrical member being pivotable about the guide and a motor to effect the pivoting. In a second embodiment, the means to elevate comprises gear means including a plurality of interengaged gear elements to lift and rotate the bed cover in its folded position to its substantially vertical position. In one variation, the gear means includes a manually operable ratchet means to rotate the interengaged gear elements thereby elevating the bed cover to its substantially vertical position.
In a further variation, the gear means includes a manually operable lever device to rotate said interengaged gear elements thereby elevating the bed cover to its substantially vertical position. In still a third variation, the elements include a first gear engaging a toothed outer periphery of a semi-circular surface of a pivot arm and a motor driving the first gear in a first rotational direction to rotate the semi-circular surface in an opposite rotational direction to rotate the pivot arm and a first of the plurality of sections onto a second of the plurality of sections. Cable means is attached to a first end of the first of a plurality of sections and brake means to retard movement of the first of the plurality of sections as it is folded onto the second of the plurality of sections is provided. The brake means includes a resistance clutch and a rewind motor connected to the cable. A telescoping push rod engages a recess in a nether surface of the second of the plurality of sections to rotate the folded bed cover to its substantially vertical position.
The securing means may comprise means to attach an upper portion of the bed cover in its substantially vertical position to a portion of the truck's roof. Alternatively, the securing means may comprise means to fix the position of an upper portion of the bed cover by a tie rod attached to a portion of said truck bed. That portion may alternatively, be a central portion of a sidewall of the truck bed or a portion of the sidewall adjacent the tailgate of the truck bed.
The hardware latch means comprises first pivoting hook means attachable to each side of the truck bed cover and bracket means attached to right and left portions of the forward sidewalls of the truck bed. Each bracket includes spring-biased locking bolt means pivotally attached thereto engageable with the pivoting hook means to secure the bed cover in the first position over the portion of the truck bed. This auxiliary latch prevents kick out of the bottom of the bed cover as it stands in its substantially vertical position. Lastly, the hardware includes a latching bar extending substantially along a hinge means between the plurality of cover sections to lock the hinge means against pivoting.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.